SmartCity Kochi clarifies its stand through a Q&A

Q&A
March 25, 2010

1. Is the latest letter considered a letter of notification to your establishment?
Whether it’s a letter or notification, what baffles us is considering the size, stature and importance of the project to the state -does it take more than 2 years to take a decision?


2. It's believed that Kerala government has given ultimatum to Tecom saying they should start the construction immediately. Is that true?
The Framework Agreement is very clear on how to start the construction and the roles and responsibilities of both the parties concerned, so unless otherwise the required conditions are met ultimatums cannot be issued to us.


3. Is Tecom still insisting on additional conditions like the freehold status? Why are you adding this condition now?
Freehold is a contractual obligation, not a favour done to us. Moreover the freehold is asked for SmartCity Kochi, an Indian company registered under the Indian companies act. We are not asking for anything which is not in the Framework Agreement. The Framework Agreement is available in the website of Kerala IT mission for anyone to verify the facts.


4. How soon will you be able to start construction work?
As mentioned earlier in question no 2 the Framework agreement clearly defines about how and when to start the work. We are quite optimistic that we will be able to complete this project as planned. We have fulfilled all the time bound contractual obligations mentioned in the Framework Agreement. We are not only prepared to develop the project on time but also to face any other contingencies arising due to any unlikely scenario.

5. Are there still issues pending?
Yes, there are issues pending related to the land, SEZ status, registration and stamp duty exemption.

6. What stage is the discussion on?
We are only discussing on the compliance of the agreement as we have nothing else to discuss or demand for.

7. How can the issues be resolved?
There are no issues pending from our side. Since the issues pending are from the Government of Kerala we expect them to get resolved once they act positively.

8. Do you feel any political angle is involved in the whole thing?
We are here in Kerala with a business proposition which we believe that will immensely benefit the people of Kerala and will help position Kerala and Kochi as a preferred IT investment destination.

9. Has global and regional recession lead to any cash crunch with your establishment that is leading to delays in the SmartCity Kochi?
To set the record straight, we would like to clarify again that these are baseless and mindless allegations which lack clarity, information and truth. Dubai has turned out to be a financial powerhouse in the recent decades because of its vision and planning and a lot of companies here have attained globally formidable stature in this process. It is completely irrational and unreasonable to link different entities and draw conclusions. Moreover people who made these baseless allegations never even bothered to check with us once.

10. What is the status of Tecom projects elsewhere abroad, like the Malta Smart City?
Malta project is right on course and actually we are ahead of 1 year and 3 months in the phase I which will go operational by the 3rd quarter of this year.